Ratchet and Clank: Hearts of Cold Blood
by DrakeStrider
Summary: Ratchets attempt to find the Lombaxes has ended in catastrophe, he is thrown into a world ruled by reptilians who utterly despise him and his kind, he must strive to earn their trust if he wants to get back home.
1. A possibility

**Ratchet and Clank: Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet strode through the market in Metropolis, looking for much needed scrap metal for something he was working on.

It had been about a month since he had returned to Solana, he really missed the old times when he and Clank were fighting the Blarg.

While walking he was constantly greeted by strangers and fans, people who either bowed in respect or even offered him a beverage.

He simply said no thank you and continued his search...

In the market stalls he saw tools, toys, unusual food and all sorts of other stuff but nothing of what he needed...

He realized that it would take some time finding it given the fact the market covered at least four streets (please take note that some Metropolis streets can be over a mile long).

While he walked he started to ponder if this was actually going to work, ever since he banished Tachyon he had waited for this chance.

After some time he at last found a stand that looked as it would fall apart any moment, it´s owner sold pretty much just junk.

He looked very poor and Ratchet couldn´t even tell what race he belonged to because he was covered in dust and dirt, he wore filthy rags and smelled horribly.

There was no wonder no one bought anything from him.

Ratchet however had much use for junk right now, he walked towards the stand and surveyed the wares.

„You buy?" The salesman said in a rusty old voice.

Before responding Ratchet took one more moment to examine his items.

„Yes, I´ll take everything..." Ratchet said casually.

The salesman blinked in disbelief.

„Ev-Everything..?" He said and blinked again.

„Yes, will 50.000 bolts be enough?" Ratchet said and almost smiled.

At this point it looked as if the man was going to faint, Ratchet noticed his shock and simply put a large bag of bolts on the salesman´s table to show him he was not fooling around.

The man took the bag and without uttering a single word he ran for a minute and came running back with a wheelbarrow.

He drove it in front of the stand and shovelled all of the scrap metal into the barrow and then handed it to Ratchet.

„Th-Thank you kind Lombax...you have given hope to a poor soul..." The man said with gratitude.

Ratchet just smiled and left with his scrap metal.

_An hour later in Ratchet´s apartment..._

Ratchet took his wheelbarrow up the elevator and through the hallway, opening his door with a keycard.

He took it to his room and closed the door behind him (even though Clank wasn´t home) and closed the window drapes.

When he was sure he wouldn´t be seen he took out another keycard and put it inside a secret mechanism on the side of his bookcase.

And with a little rumbling sound the bookcase opened up revealing a small room with a table covering a great deal of it.

On the table were blueprints mostly and a large strange device, clearly what he was working on.

He poured all of his scrap metal in a pile and then sat down and began his work again...

_The next morning..._

Clank woke up after a restful night of recharging, he stretched his robotic arms and walked into the living room.

He looked around for a minute and as expected Ratchet was not up...

Clank let out a long drawn sigh and prepared himself for waking his furry friend up.

To his shock Ratchet was not in his bed and even more to his shock it looked like he never went to bed.

The first thing he noticed after that was a bookcase not in it´s place.

Curious but also really worried he aproached the bookcase, and easily found the secret room behind it.

„How long has Ratchet been hiding this from me?" He thought to himself.

Inside the room there was remains of what seemed like a small explosion, and a table with blueprints on it (but no device).

Clank took a look at the blueprints...and to his utter terror there was a picture of a Dimensionator.

„Oh no..."


	2. Ancient enemies

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet woke up in a thicket, he had a pounding head ache and felt rather dizzy.

„Ugh...where am I?" He said to himself aloud.

He looked around and noticed he was in a swamp or a jungle, had it worked? Had his prototype taken him into another dimension?

There was only one way to find out...

He picked up his heavy device and set out into the jungle.

He walked for minutes on end with his wrench ready should he meet a predator (even though he hadn´t seen one), this jungle was unlike anything he had ever seen, the plants seemed to move a bit on their own and the trees had thorns in them.

He had not encountered any lifeform (other than flora) so far but he heard rather unsettling sounds sometimes and everytime he turned around to face it the sound was gone.

He felt as if he was being watched...

Ratchet entered what seemed like some sort of grove, the grove had an alter in the middle with what appeared to be a flesh offering on it.

The offering was gruesome, the blood practically dripped from the alter, this made the Lombax very uneasy...

And then he heard the sound again but this time louder than ever...

He turned around and saw something slowly rising from the bushes.

From the bush rose what Ratchet could only describe as a monster, the creature was tall with scaly skin, it had visibly razor sharp teeth and claws, it stood on reversed legs with a thick long tail to keep it balanced.

It´s eyes were blood red, filled with ancient hatred.

At first the creature just stared at him in utter shock, but then it flashed a horrible toothy grin.

Ratchet realized that without his arsenal he wouldn´t have much chance against this beast, so he tried to reason with it...

„Uh...hello..my name is Ratchet and I come in peace..." He stammered.

The creature looked confused obviously not understanding the common galactic language.

But before Ratchet could try anything else the creature waved it´s hand in the air with a sickly green glow and Ratchet immediately fell asleep.

_Half an hour later..._

Ratchet groaned, once again with a head ache, he felt that he was tied to a pole in a tent, he scanned his surroundings.

There was little in the tent other than himself and the pole he was tied to, a few bones on the floor wich made him really tense.

Whoever these creatures were, they were definately not friendly (at least not to Lombaxes).

Suddenly one of the creatures entered the tent, it was wearing a robe endorsed with skull ornaments and other voodoo stuff.

A hood concealed it´s face and strangely enough antlers stood out of it.

„I have come to ask you questions, warm blood..." He said in the intergalactic tounge.

Ratchet said nothing...

„First...why have you come here?" The shaman asked, not in a threatning tone.

„Is this where the Lombaxes are?" Ratchet asked and didn´t break eye contact.

The shaman looked at him, as if he was suprised but also insulted...

„You have no clue who we even are do you?" The shaman said, almost with pity in his voice...

„...No" Ratchet replied.

The shaman studied Ratchet for a while...

„Then tell me...who are you?" Ratchet said after a moment.

„You shall discover that in time little cub and I don´t think you will like the results, but for now I must consult the high cheiftain as to what to do with you, you will be interrogated later..."

With that said the old creature walked out of the tent and closed behind him the drape.

Leaving Ratchet alone in the darkness...


	3. The judgement

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet spent the whole night strapped to that damn pole, you can imagine how hard it is to sleep tied upright to something.

It didn´t help that his device had been taken from him, he only hoped that whoever the creatures were they would be merciful and let him go.

The next morning the sun shone through the tent´s drape, waking Ratchet up (if he ever managed to sleep at all).

Two of the creatures entered, Ratchet could tell they were elite guards of some sort, their armour was made from dark metal, it had cracks in it and was forged in a sharp, pointy way.

One of them stepped forward with a dagger and cut the ropes surprisingly swiftly.

„Get up tassel tail!" The guard shouted at him.

„What?" Ratchet replied trying to cover his eyes from the bright light.

„Oh I forgot...you´ve never met one of us before..." The guard said without changing his expression.

Then he kneeled down to face Ratchet.

„Let´s just say you should get used to that name...and more..." He said and grinned.

As soon as he said that he took out more rope and tied Ratchet´s hands together, he then motioned for Ratchet to follow him.

„Now, try anything funny furball and you´ll be hanging by your ears tonight!" The guard said and hissed at Ratchet to make his point.

Ratchet just looked him in anger, much to the guard´s amusement.

They left the tent and Ratchet saw his first of the village.

It looked almost like a small city, where he was right now was in the millitary district as they called it.

Later they entered the market, many of the creatures selling their wares to villagers, they seemed to sell everything from food to jewelry (VERY unusual jewlery).

It kinda reminded him of the markets he had seen on his adventures, the market on Kerwan being the most recent.

Then they walked through the dwellings, many of the creatures staring at Ratchet, with different looks.

Some stared in utter surprise (mostly hatchlings), others looked as if they wanted to strangle him, and others just grinned, probably to make him nervous.

At last they came to what looked like a tribal palace, one of it´s building materials were bones and straw.

They entered the gate guarded by even more heavily armoured guards (who stood so still they looked like statues) and Ratchet started to get really nervous, it would seem that the lizards´s grins had worked.

They entered a sanctum with ten seats and a large throne in the middle.

The seats were filled with what seemed to be council men, and the throne was filled with what Ratchet knew was the leader of these lizards.

He had a hood with runes on the edge, shoulders with spikes in them, armour darker than any of the guards and eyes more blood red than any other of the creatures.

Ratchet was thrown into the middle of the circular room, right before their king.

The leader stood up and spoke in a voice that sent a chill down Ratchet´s spine.

„You stand before the grand council little Lombax, you have been accused of trespassing on our sacred ground and spreading your warm blooded filth on to our land!"

His voice reminded Ratchet of Tachyon but...entirely different at the same time.

Ratchet had always described Tachyon as a screaming psychopath, but this leader was much more...in control of himself.

He was calm and it was very easy to take him seriously, his voice was deeper and a lot more menacing...

In any case he continued...

„I´m well aware that you might not know of your kind´s former actions but sadly YOU might end up suffering for them!" He said glaring from his hidden face.

„However, my race is not without mercy, and therefore you will not be put to the blade...but we cannot just let you go, that is completely out of the question!" He said and put the last words very clearly.

„My council and I will be the ones deciding your fate...be it grim or mild..." He said and turned to his council members.

„How about we just keep him in the lockdowns? He will be fed once a day and kept away from the villagers" One said.

„Are you coddling with the creature? No! We should have him fight in the arena for the amusement of the people!" Another said.

Those few minutes were one of the worst Ratchet had ever experienced, to have others toy with your life like this is a NOT a pleasant thing to be put through.

He had listened to all sorts of awful ideas of how he should be made suffer, and then he started to wonder what exactly the Lombaxes had done to earn such hatred.

When he was sure they were going to go with the lockdowns (wich he imagined was a prison of some sort) a voice suddenly said: „I have an objection!"

Ratchet recognised that voice, from the darkness came the shaman who had visited him during the evening.

Ratchet could tell he was old, VERY old, he could tell by the brittle, gray scales and cracked teeth.

„No this is barbaric and vile! Have you no sympathy in your black hearts!" He stood in front of Ratchet as to defend him.

„This poor youngling has no idea why we are here judging his own fate! Have at least some pity!" He said decisively.

„Well then what do you suggest Argrel?" One of them asked.

„Why are even listening to this old fool? Your years as a Rothim have made you soft and pathetic!" Another yelled out.

„I agree and what´s with this sudden sympathy for mammals! In case you´re not aware we have been at war with these vermin for centuries on end!" Another said.

„At least hear what I have to say! Instead of making this poor thing suffer, we should be making him help us, help us rebuild our homes, I´m sure you all know of Lombaxian craftsmanship?" He said in a convincing tone.

This made the others scratch their scaly heads.

„But most of all...what do you say my lord?" the shaman said and looked at his leader.

„Hmm, you make a valid point as always Argrel and we could use all the help we can get (even though it comes from a Lombax) but what I´m most worried about are the villagers...I don´t think they will react well to him and ESPECIALLY not the Aurogars! (you will find out who they are soon)" The leader said with a bit of concern in his voice.

„They will learn to accept him in time, that is how everything works, even the greatest enemies can become the best of companions" Argrel said almost smiling.

The cheiftain paused as to think for a minute...

„Very well Argrel your idea has been chosen...again..." He said merely to irritate the council men.

„But also the Lombax will be placed in your care, you will take him under your wing and teach him our ways...the Lyzaar way" He said and pointed to him and Ratchet.

Argrel nodded clearly happy about the situation, he turned to face Ratchet.

„Well come along then Lombax" He said and motioned him to follow him.

Ratchet sighed...would he ever escape from here?

* * *

><p>Whoever´s reading this thank you greatly for showing interest and please stick around there´s much more to come P.S. If you think the Lyzaar are going to go easy on poor Ratchet I´m afraid that your deathly wrong :(<p> 


	4. Tassel tail

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet followed Argrel through the streets of the small city, it was getting dark and Ratchet started to wonder how his life would be from now on...

Argrel had undone the rope on his hands because apparently he trusted him, wich Ratchet could appreciate in a world like this.

They came to a hut on an isolated part of the city, the hut was crudely built but it looked safe to live in, when they entered it Ratchet saw all sorts of oddities.

He saw what looked like a water pipe, a box of herbs, meat hanging by rope from the ceiling and a large crystal orb on a table.

„Ah...hriim ver hriim..." Argrel said and stretched his long scaly arms.

Ratchet guessed that meant home sweet home in their tongue.

„Now before we go to the nests I would ask of you a favour..." Argrel said and smiled.

„Um..sure" Ratchet replied.

„Good you´re going to need that attitude if you want live well here, anyway I´m running short on water supply, could you go to the well for me and fetch some?" He said and took out a bucket.

„Of course but where is it?" Ratchet asked.

„Remember the road we took? Just follow it back a few meters and turn right" Argrel said and pointed to the doorstep.

Ratchet nodded and went out with the bucket.

He honestly didn´t like doing chores for any of these creatures but it wasn´t like he had much of a choice, and besides Argrel had been very kind to him, if he hadn´t stepped in Ratchet would have been thrown in the lockdowns.

And that would have been even worse...

After following Argrel´s instructions he found a little alley of a sort where the well was located, the well was big, easily big enough for him to fall in.

As he aproached it he felt an aura of unease, once again he felt as if he was being watched.

While filling the bucket with pure water he heard a sound, a large thumping sound, like something had just dropped behind him.

He turned around and before him stood the biggest, meanest looking Lyzaar he had seen so far.

He barely wore any armour on his upper body, except maybe vambraces on his arms, his teeth looked sharp enough to snap a tree in one bite and his eyes stared at Ratchet in pure hate and disdain.

„Welcome to Morlokka Lombax!" He said and without warning tore at Ratchet´s fur.

Luckily Ratchet was quick enough to evade it, he realized he wouldn´t stand a chance against this brute so he attempted to get around him (given the fact he was stuck in that alley).

He tried to slide under him and escape that way but as soon as he tried the brute grabbed him by his arms and literally threw him in the air.

Ratchet landed hard on the ground and felt one of his rib bones crack, worst of all he landed with his head facing the well and his feet facing the brute.

And that is the worst possible position to be in if you´re a Lombax fighting a Lyzaar, because they know a secret that other races don´t: The most sensitive part of a Lombax´s body is the tail.

Knowing this the brute grabbed Ratchet´s tail with one hand and lifted him in the air by it.

„So tell me tassel tail...why have you made the mistake of coming here?" The brute said in a mocking tone.

„Why...do..you care?" Ratchet said struggling not to show signs of pain, Ratchet wasn´t very heavy but still his body put an incredible stretch on his tail.

„Cocky as always!" He said and glared at Ratchet who hung upside down from his own tail.

„I don´t know how you came here Lombax but you´re in Lyzaar territory now! Here you will get nothing but hate and abuse!" He said and finally dropped Ratchet who landed on his forehead.

„Remember that lesson as you spend the rest of your life here with your forfathers´s greatest enemies!" He shouted at Ratchet whose face was now covered in mud.

The brute left Ratchet in the muck and just as he left it started to rain...

Ratchet scrambled to his feet in pain, his clothes were torn, his fur was soaked and muddy and his chest and tail ached remerkably.

He took his water filled bucket and limped back to Argrel´s hut.

The only thing Ratchet could think of along the way was what in the world had he ever done to deserve this.

When he came back Argrel was standing there waiting for him.

„Oh no..." He said and ran to Ratchet as soon as he saw that Ratchet wasn´t well.

„What happened to you boy?" He asked with great concern.

„I was...attacked by some giant...jerk face!" Ratchet said visibly angry.

„I should have known this would happen..." Argrel said and looked down, clearly blaming himself.

„Come we need to get you mended..." Argrel said and went in with Ratchet behind him.

„Do you have any nanotech around here?" Ratchet asked with hope that the pain would dissapear soon.

„I´m sorry but there is no such thing here...but we have something just as good" Argrel said and went into his cupboard.

He took out bandages, medicine and healing herbs.

„Now lay down on the bench..." He said and pointed to a bench behind Ratchet.

Ratchet positioned himself on the bench as carefully as he could.

„Hmm...yes, it would seem your tail has been severely bruised and your ribs are slightly cracked, the ribs I can fix here and now but it will take time for the bruises to heal" Argrel said casually.

Ratchet seemed puzzled...

„Wait how can you fix the ribs now, but not the bruises?" Ratchet asked.

„If I try to do something about bruises it can become worse, they are meant to heal with time, bones on the other hand can be repaired through medicine" Argrel said and smiled.

„Now drink this" He said and without warning shoved a mouthful of medicine down Ratchet´s throat.

„Ughh!" Ratchet said and stuck his tongue out, the medicine tasted more awful than anything he had ever tasted.

„Now as for your tail..." Argrel said and took out the bandages.

He wrapped bandages around half of Ratchet´s tail as gently as he could.

„There that should give the bruise time to heal, now before you go to sleep you need to wash that mud from your fur..." Argrel said and eyed Ratchet from toe to top.

„Follow me..." He said and Ratchet followed.

They entered an area of Argrel´s hut that had no roof, the moon shone through the room and much to Ratchet´s pleasure there was a small pool in the middle.

„Sometimes it get´s a bit cold in Morlokka and then it´s good to have warm water available, now just wash yourself till the dirt is gone..." Argrel said and left the cozy room.

Ratchet got undressed and jumped straight into the hot tub, in case your not aware Lombaxes love water.

He let himself float in it until his coat was clean and shining.

Maybe this day wasn´t so bad, I mean he had just got tenderized by some Lyzaar jerk but in the end he got the better of the day.

And the fact that if Argrel could accept him, then maybe one day maybe they all would.

But for now he would have to earn their trust if he ever wanted to get back home...


	5. Arnrorak mine

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet spent the night sleeping in Lyzaar crafted nest, it was surprisingly comfy and easy to sleep in, Argrel had given him a room on the second floor of the hut and there he slept peacefully.

As for where Argrel himself slept, he had no idea...

Ratchet was rudely awoken the next morning at the thunder of a massive warhorn, it bellowed like some monstrous beast and he felt as if his ear drums would explode.

As a result of the noise he fell out of his nest from being shocked, with his blanket all over his head...

He stood up, stretched his arms and yawned, Argrel had given him new Lyzaar made clothes, made from swamp thread as he called it.

After putting on the new clothes he went down to the living room (if you could call it that) where Argrel sat with his feet crossed in meditation.

He breathed deeply and heavily like most do when meditating, out of respect for the shaman Ratchet waited for him to finish.

After some time Ratchet witnessed a remarkable thing, suddenly Argrel levitated in the air for a few moments, Ratchet stared in awe.

How did he do such a thing? How was it possible?

The moment he landed on the ground Argrel stood up and turned around to face Ratchet.

„Good morning young Lombax" He said rather cheerfully.

„I do hope you are ready for your first day learning?" He said and smiled.

Ratchet nodded, in actuality he was REALLY nervous, after the treatment he had gotten yesterday there was no telling how the other Lyzaar would react to him.

„But first!..." Argrel said and paused...

„Breakfast!" He said and smiled wider than ever.

He went into a room behind him for only a few moments to get something...

He returned with a...stick?

That was Ratchet thought.

„This right here is a Rothim staff..." Argrel said proudly and showed him a staff made from greenish looking wood.

Ratchet looked at the staff unimpressed...

„Hmhm...just you wait" Argrel said and smirked.

He took a seat at the table and started to slightly wave the staff around, as he waved it the staff started to glow with all sorts of colours.

Now THAT caught Ratchet´s attention.

Slowly but clearly spices started to appear on the table, then sauce and finally vegtables.

Ratchet stared wide eyed at the conjured food, was Argrel some sort of warlock? Had Ratchet been wrong when he said magic was impossible?

„And now for the main course" Argrel said and untied a large steak from the ceiling ropes.

He then put the massive piece of meat on the table with the rest of the food.

„Well? Dig in" Argrel said and smiled.

He didn´t have to tell Ratchet twice, Ratchet hadn´t eaten anything since he was on Kerwan and that was 3 days ago.

Argrel chuckled as he saw Ratchet slaughtering that meal.

„You remind me of a young Lyzaar already..." He said and took a bite from the vegtables.

„Now before we go on, I need to know your name..." Argrel said to Ratchet (who by now had meat sauce all over his mouth).

„Ratchet..." He said in reply.

„Ratchet? Are you sure?" Argrel said with a questionable look.

„Uh..yeah, is something wrong?" Ratchet asked and stopped eating for a second.

„No no it´s nothing..." Argrel said and his expression changed from cheerful to almost concerned.

When Ratchet was done eating he and Argrel went out of the hut, they walked to the main city center.

And as to be expected eyes stared at Ratchet the entire time, some filled with curiosity and others with...well...hate.

They walked through the districts and came to what Argrel called: The work quarter.

The district was filled with the lower class of Lyzaar, peasants and such, they came to a crystal mine where Argrel stopped at.

„Here is your first assignment" Argrel said and pointed to the mine.

„You´re kidding?" Ratchet said in disbelief.

„Listen Ratchet, you must be cooperative, if your not...you´ll end up in a worse state than yesterday, and then I won´t be around to heal you" Argrel said very seriously.

„I understand..." Ratchet said, obviously not liking to be a slave.

„That´s the spirit, remember if you only listen and obey you will be accepted" Argrel said and smiled.

Argrel now left him at the mine entrence...

Ratchet was about to get into the mine when he was stopped by a Lyzaar who seemed to be the overseer of this operation.

„Ah...the tassel tail arrives.." He said flashing his sharp teeth in a grin.

Ratchet gave him a mean look, really hating that name.

„Now you must understand for our own reasons, you must wear this at all times in the mine" He said and showed him a metal chain leash.

Ratchet stared in shock, he could not believe this was happening.

The overseer chuckled , sensing Ratchet´s shock.

All Ratchet could say was: „...Why?"

„Because after all we´ve been through, there is no chance we´re going to trust a Lombax!" He said and without warning tied the chain around ratchet´s neck incredibly fast.

„Now come along..." He said and tugged on Ratchet´s chain.

This was possibly the most embarassing thing he had ever been put through, he could hear some of the Lyzaar workers laughing at him.

They went deeper into the mine and stopped somewhere where there was a lot of crystal to dig.

The overseer tied the other end of the chain to a pole, gave Ratchet a pickaxe and left him there to mine, with only one torch as a source of light.

This was hell, there was no other way to describe it...


	6. Those Bad days

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

****_In this chapter I´m going to have to ask you to put on Bad day by Daniel Powter, trust me it´s worth it!_

Ratchet had lost track of time of how long he had been in that mine, he had dug for at least for five hours and his neck was getting sore from the chain.

When some guards came at last to get the crystals he had dug up Ratchet was too exhausted to stand up on his feet, he lay on the cave floor, all sweaty from the work.

The guards arrived with a cart to haul the goods and when it left they turned to face Ratchet...

„It would seem you tassel tails aren´t all that useless..." One said and chuckled.

Ratchet was too tired to even respond, noticing it the guard grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to his feet, it was only then when Ratchet realized how incredibly strong the average Lyzaar is.

Ratchet struggled to keep his footing while the other guard untied the chain from the pole.

Without saying more the guard pulled on the chain, dragging Ratchet along with him.

After handing the plunder to the overseer the guards took Ratchet back to Argrel´s hut...

When they came back Argrel was standing in the doorstep with his arms crossed.

The guards handed Argrel the chain and he gave them a mean look, it would seem he had more care for Ratchet than...well...any other Lyzaar in the entire dimension.

Argrel immediately undid the chain and sat down to have a talk with the young Lombax...

„So..how was your first day of work?" Argrel said, not smiling.

Ratchet looked at him in anger...

„Was that some sort of joke?" He said.

„Cause I sure as hell ain´t laughing!" Ratchet yelled at the old Lyzaar.

„I have no idea where I even am! Do you think I deserve this? I DON´T!" Ratchet said in pure anger.

„If you care so much about me then why don´t you help me escape from this hellhole?" Ratchet asked still very angry.

„...I can´t.." Argrel said after a long while.

Ratchet gave him a sad look filled with confusion...

„What do you mean?" Ratchet asked...

„...I can´t..." Argrel said and gave Ratchet a look he had never seen before, like he was bound by some oath.

Ratchet said nothing more that evening and neither did Argrel, Ratchet had been pushed to his physical limits today and he had never been more tired.

After his argument with the shaman Ratchet immediately fell asleep in his nest...

Barely tucking himself in with the blanket...

Later however when Ratchet was asleep, Argrel came into his room and put the blanket over him, he smiled at the Lombax sleeping peacefully in the nest.

He left Ratchet and went to his own nest...

The next few days Ratchet would work in the mine for five hours daily, and every day was very much the same.

The same work, the same crystals, the same exhaustion, the same chain and the same bullying.

Every day he would come tired back to Argrel´s hut for dinner and a bath...

He had no friends and not surprisingly, no Lyzaar in the right mind would befriend a Lombax...

He found himself whistling when in the mine, it kept his spirits up and he felt his work easier...

This was his schedule now: Wake up early, go to the mine, dig for five hours, go back to the hut and relax...

At least he was allowed that much...

All this time he could think of little else than home, and his best friend...

Clank must have lost all hope by now, Ratchet thought to himself and nearly shed a tear...

But he didn´t dare do that in front of the Lyzaar, if they saw him cry they would only have more reason to make him suffer.

After a few days of working in the mine Ratchet´s hate for the Lyzaar only grew, everyday the other workers would tease him by pulling his ears or tripping him on purpose with their spiny tails.

The guards were even worse, if Ratchet was too tired to get up they would often pluck one of his hairs or even kick him, please take note that Lyzaar don´t wear shoes and therefore their sharp toe claws are exposed.

Sigh, was this the life he would have to live from now on?

Even with the hardships of Morlokka, this world had a sense of beauty about it, every day the sun would shine brightly over his head, and outside the city the trees would waft in the wind.

Sadly ever since he had his argument with Argrel the two had spoken little...

Both seemed rather depressed everytime (Ratchet more so obviously).

Anyway, Ratchet was confident he would survive this, one way...or the other...


	7. Old reflexes

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

In the dark streets of Kremin city a shadowy figure creeped along, the figure was a Lyzaar without a doubt, but what kind of Lyzaar?

The figure had a hood to conceal it´s reptilian appearence, it was dressed in black leather with three kinds of daggers strapped to it´s belt.

Please take note that Lyzaar come in many shapes, the ones who are thin and sleek prefer to use the power of stealth and deception.

Others are strong and muscle bound, they prefer the way of war and blood.

Even with their differences all Lyzaar share a common thing...

Cunning wit and intellect...

This is what every Lyzaar is born with, but some have even stronger minds than others, the figure we are looking at, is without a doubt one of them.

The shade sneaked along the guard barracks with unbelieveable skill, you could say that it melds with the shadows.

The figure stopped with a target in sight, it stared for a while at a hut in the distance.

The hut belonged to the arch shaman of Kremin, who preferred to live in solitude, away from the stress of the primitive city.

The figure sneaked towards the hut very carefully...

It checked the windows and found only dark rooms, it then climbed on the roof with great agility.

There was only one window on the roof, the figure checked the window and let out a gasping sound.

Was it´s eyes playing tricks? Was that really a Lombax sleeping in a Lyzaar nest?

„I don´t believe it!" A female voice whispered to itself.

The voice of the figure while female, sounded rather old, the female had to be at least middle aged.

The female swung from the roof and landed gently on the ground in front of the door.

She knew that a teenage Lombax would need a high caliber explosive to wake up, and if she knew the arch shaman well enough then he would also have problems getting up on his feet.

As a result she decided to pick the lock, and she wasn´t long doing it...

When she was in she went straight for the shaman´s room (because for some reason she knew exactly where it was).

She came to the sleeping shaman, as to be expected from an elderly Lyzaar he snored rather loud, it didn´t seem to affect her (almost like she was used to it), she put her face almost right up to his own and started to whisper in his ear.

„Drii bera lo graash, nivrea algtish..." She whipered in the old shaman´s ear, she noticed his irritation, like he was having a bad dream all of a sudden.

Shortly after, his eyelids started to shake, and shortly after that they started to slowly open.

When they were almost fully open, the shaman stared into the eyes of a Lyzaar female with a cowl hiding her face.

His expression changed from drowsy to terribly shocked, in an act of being startled he jumped onto his feet in a split second and let out a sound that only a terrified Lyzaar can give.

It sounded like a hiss combined with a howl, almost impossible to describe...

Realizing there was no danger he sat down again...

„...Gr-Grashka?" He panted.

„Surprised to see me Argrel?" She said and took of the cowl, revealing a face with scars and a small tattoo looking like a claw.

Her eyes were yellow and Argrel always felt uneasy in her presence.

„Before we get to buisness, care to explain the Lombax on your second floor?" She said checking her claws.

Argrel swallowed, he wasn´t put off course by many things but Grashka had none like her, her voice was just as ancient as his own, but filled with years of suffering and difficulty, however whatever she had been put through, it had made her strong.

„I guess we have a lot to talk about...come we´ll talk in the living quarters" He said and walked unsteadily out of the room.

Grashka chuckled, she thought Argrel look very silly in his sleeping robes.

„So..that Lombax you saw, is Ratchet..." Argrel said after they had both taken a seat.

„Ratchet? That´s an odd name for a Lombax..." Grashka said, thinking deeply for a second.

„How did he get here, if I may ask?" She asked.

„Using some sort of a dimensionator like device" Argrel said in turn.

„But why would he come here?" Grashka asked.

„I do not know..." Argrel said as he had wondered that for a long time.

Argrel explained to Grashka how the chieftain had allowed him to let Ratchet work instead of being kept in a cage.

While he explained Grashka just nodded, seeming more concerned with every word (as for why I don´t know).

„Can I see him?" She asked innocently.

Argrel frowned not quite trusting her, after some while he said yes.

They went up the stairs to where Ratchet slept peacefully...

Grashka smiled at the young sleeping Lombax, with almost compassion in her eyes.

„How can we be so cruel?" She asked.

Argrel didn´t respond...

„Argrel I need to ask you a favour..." Grashka said to Argrel as he was about to leave the room.

Argrel looked at her, waiting for hearing the favour first...

„Can I stay here for a few weeks?" She asked, hoping he wouldn´t deny her.

„You can stay here as long as you wish..." Argrel said, trying to smile but failing...

„Thank you..." She said and hugged him (which is something you´ll only see a Lyzaar do once).

When Argrel was gone Grashka took one last look at Ratchet...

„There is something about you, and that makes we want to protect you..." She said in her mind.

* * *

><p>Apparently Grashka sees something in Ratchet...<p> 


	8. Bloodlust

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet woke up for the fourth time in his comfy nest, he lifted his blanket off and got up.

He stretched his arms as usual, got himself dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

Argrel was downstairs already dressed in his shaman garbs, he was eating some sort of herb.

„Good morning Argrel" Ratchet said, not very cheerful but as cheerful as a slave can be.

„Morning youngling..." Argrel said not taking his eyes of the herb he was eating.

Ratchet was about to have some Proma juice (a very tasty fruit in Morlokka) when he heard the sound of something moving.

„Did you hear that?" He asked Argrel, perking up his ears.

Before Argrel could respond a figure appeared right in front of Ratchet´s face.

As to be expected Ratchet was startled greatly, he almost spilled the juice all over the floor.

The figure was of course Grashka, sneaky as she was she could have easily surprised a young Lombax just for the fun of it.

„Ah..that just never gets old..." She said and smiled at the poor Lombax struggling to keep his breath after being surprised like that.

„You´ll have to forgive an old lady´s shenanigans, my name is Grashka, shadow mistress of the black legion" She said and bowed.

„Uh...the honor is all mine.." Ratchet stammered.

„I´m Ratchet..." He said and bowed as well.

„So tell me...Ratchet, what do they make you do here?" She asked.

„I pretty much just mine..." He replied.

„Well, you´ll be happy to know that soon you will move to something else" She said as if to comfort him.

Before Ratchet could ask how she knew that Argrel dragged him to the doorstep.

„You´re getting late Ratchet and you don´t have time to stand here and chat..." Argrel said and pointed out to the work quarter.

Ratchet nodded and ran ahead (not looking forward to another day in the mine).

Argrel stood in the doorstep watching Ratchet dissapear into the city, what he didn´t notice was that Grashka was standing beside him.

_Later in Arnorak mine..._

Ratchet had already started to dig, every day he was given a new ditch to dig in but other than that, every day was very much the same.

And as usual he had that damn chain always tight around his neck while he worked, the sound of picks hitting the earth echoed through the caves.

After about an hour of work the echos suddenly stopped, Ratchet was a bit alarmed...

After only a few minutes of silence, he started to hear footsteps coming loser to him.

When he was certain the sound was almost directly behind him he turned around...

„Oh..no.." Was all he could say when once again saw the monstrous beast of a Lyzaar that attacked him when he was getting the water.

„I will be the last thing you will ever see, little Lombax...this I can assure you!" The brute said and started to slowly walk towards him.

„Is this how you Lyzaar fight? Are you going to kill an unarmed Lombax chained to a pole?" Ratchet asked, ready to fight for his life.

„Interesting you should ask..." The brute said and took out something, it was Ratchet´s wrench.

„I will give the prey a fighting chance" He said and threw the wrench at Ratchet´s feet.

He also broke the chain with his jaw, and readied his claws to shred Ratchet to pieces.

The brute attacked first, hurling himself at Ratchet, Ratchet was quick however and easily avoided him.

The Lyzaar chrashed with his face in the rock, even if you´re a Lyzaar it still has to hurt when your head is rammed into a solid wall.

Ratchet took advantage of his weakness and struck him with great force in the back with his wrench.

„Graah!" He shouted, Ratchet smiled satisfied with him inflicting the pain this time.

But the brute was a Lyzaar, and they recover incredibly fast, and sadly Ratchet didn´t count on that.

In an act of rage the brute turned around with lightning speed and rended Ratchet with his claws ferociously.

Ratchet screamed in pain, drops of blood trickled from the wound.

The brute snickered wickedly at Ratchet, the Lombax was weakened and he stumbled backwards in pain.

Ratchet stumbled backwards into a corner with loose rubble on the top of it.

The brute realized that, and in a moment of outmost cruelty, he stomped with incredible force on the ground and as a result loosing the rubble on top of Ratchet´s head.

The rocks fell straight down on Ratchet, nailing him to the ground, a large rock on his torso and two on his legs and arms.

The brute stared down at Ratchet, chuckling.

At this point Ratchet was in great amount of pain, the rocks had broken a few bones and he was still bleeding, but this particularly vicously cruel Lyzaar was about to make it even worse...

He raised his reversed leg and sent it crashing down on Ratchet´s vulnerable tail.

He basically flattened it beneath his bare foot, the pain Ratchet was already in had just been raised by fifty percent.

Ratchet shouted in pain, very much to the Lyzaar´s amusement...

Fortunately for Ratchet he didn´t do it more than once, but he still kept his foot over his tail for some time.

After only a short while he felt his tail bone crack, the bastard had broken it...

Suddenly the Lyzaar lowered his head close to Ratchet as to speak with him.

„The only reason that I haven´t eaten you yet, is that I enjoy toying with my prey! And as an act of mercy I will stay my hunger for now, but next time you might not be so lucky!" He hissed at poor Ratchet.

Ratchet´s body couldn´t take it anymore, he blacked out from the pain...

The last few moments he remembered was the Lyzaar brute leaving...and someone else coming for him...

* * *

><p>Just in case you´re wondering "Are Lyzaar cannibals?" well I wouldn´t say so much as cannibals as really animalistic...<p> 


	9. Carvings of Mystery

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Argrel walked through an ancient hall, where this hall was I do not know.

He carried a torch to light his way and had a tome in his other hand, the hall he walked through was dark and old so he had to be careful.

He walked until he came to the end of the hall, there he used the torch to illuminate the carvings on the wall.

The carvings displayed some sort of prophecy, on it was carved what looked like a Lombax standing in front of hordes of angry Lyzaar.

The Lyzaar threw stones at him and spat at him in their anger, but when Argrel took a look at the other carvings he saw the exact opposite.

He saw three Lyzaar cheiftains standing before thousands of Lombaxes, these carvings looked much older than the ones showing the lone Lombax so they had to be further in the past.

The cheiftains looked scarred and bloody and they seemed to begging the Lombaxes for something, Argrel shuddered in terror to look at these images of their dark past.

The first carving on the wall (which Argrel had decided not to look at first) contained a Lyzaar standing on top of a cliff.

This Lyzaar was sinister looking, his eyes had been made from blood red gems to state his corruption, he wore robes dark as the void itself and an evil aura eminated around him.

Around the cliff he stood on thousands of Lyzaar stood and grovelled...

Argrel looked away immediately and turned his eyes to the last carving, that carving displayed a Lombax fighting the dark Lyzaar and dying to him.

A chill ran down Argrel´s bent spine...

„I hope this is isn´t true..." Argrel said and left the dark hall.

* * *

><p>I KNOW I KNOW! The chapter was really short and I´m really sorry but I promise that the next one will be the longest one yet!...What? You don´t believe me?<p> 


	10. Living like a Lyzaar

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet lay on the cave floor, he was unconscious and blood dripped from the wound given to him by the Lyzaar.

The brute had left but now someone else was coming...

The figure gasped at the state of the Lombax, it removed the cowl to get a better look at his wounds.

Grashka...of course, she had been following Ratchet this entire time but had lost her way in the deep caves and so she had missed his fight with the brute.

She could only imagine the horror he had faced down here, she immediately took him up and carried him on her back.

She was very strong and could easily lift a young Lombax, she ran with him out of the caves using her sense of direction.

She quickly got him out and ran straight for Argrel´s hut.

She didn´t want anyone to see her so she stuck to the shadows and when a shadow mistress sticks to the shadows...nothing can see her.

Even while carrying Ratchet she still had no problems remaining undetected, her feet were swift and her eyes sharp.

After only a few minutes she came to Argrel´s hut...

Argrel stood as always in the doorstep waiting for Ratchet and when he saw Grashka carrying him a look of terror appeared on his face.

„By the elements! What happened to him!" Argrel said fraught with worry.

„I don´t know, I found him like this in the mines..." Grashka said and handed Ratchet to Argrel.

Argrel cursed in the Lyzaar tongue and took Ratchet to the healing chamber...

Once inside the chamber he put Ratchet on a resting bench and rummaged through the medical supplies.

He came to the resting bench with arms full of mixtures, salves, bandages and herbs, and he started to examine Ratchet´s wounds.

„Hmm..scarred chest, we´ll need some bandages for that...,his left arm seems to broken..., a few ribs seem to be broken as well..., and also his tail has bent to the point that the bone broke" Argrel said and sighed deeply.

But all of a sudden his face turned to stone, he smelled the air around Ratchet and snorted like he had something filthy in his nostrils.

„I recognise this scent..." Argrel said with a look of seriousness.

„You do?" Grashka asked, concerned.

„This is not the first time Ratchet has been attacked and I smell the same scent on these wounds" Argrel said feeling anger swelling up inside of him.

Grashka noticed Argrel´s irritation and she felt the same feeling soon.

„Whoever did this needs to pay!" She said now even more angry than Argrel.

„I share your need for vengence, but for now we must quell our Lyzaar instincts and speak with the chieftain about the matter" Argrel said attempting to calm himself.

„Are you mad? You´re going to ask the chieftain to avenge a Lombax´s misfortune? NO! We need to do this ourselves!" Grashka said knowing that the chief would never help a Lombax.

„We can´t just go out into the streets and kill someone!" Argrel said, being the peaceful shaman.

„You know the scent, you know who to find and this is not just **someone**, this is a Lyzaar who enjoys to torment and that is not our way! Whoever this wretch is, it deserves to die!" Grashka said getting angrier by the minute.

Argrel stopped for a second...

„Tell me something Grashka...why do you care so much for this Lombax?" Argrel said looking suspiciously at her.

Grashka stopped dead, she absolutely did not know what to say.

Argrel didn´t push the issue further but he believed there was a deep psycological reason why she was so protective of Ratchet.

Grashka didn´t say another word that night and neither did Argrel, he finished healing Ratchet and then put him to the nest for some sleep.

_The next morning..._

Ratchet rolled around in his nest, slowly he opened his eyes and realized he was back in the hut, safe and sound.

But as soon as he tried to get up a massive surge of pain coursed through his body, all the way from his scarred chest to his broken tail.

He grunted and immediately fell back into the nest not daring to move more lest risking another pain surge, for some time he just lay in the nest relaxing.

The sun shone brightly through the window and it warmed up his fur, it felt nice.

Soon Argrel came up...

„Ah you´re awake..." He said and smiled.

Ratchet nodded, he smiled back at the old one.

„What happened? How did I get here?" Ratchet asked.

Argrel paused for a minute...

„...Grashka brought you here"" He replied.

Ratchet blinked in disbelief, lowering his ears slightly.

„Grashka?" He said puzzled, Ratchet had imagined her being the non-caring blade for hire whose only pleasure came from killing.

Argrel nodded, he smiled at Ratchet´s surprise, glad to know that he realized that there were Lyzaar who cared about him.

Some time later Ratchet was dressed in his clothes and ready for his first day off (given the fact he was in no state to work).

Ratchet started his day with some fresh fruit for breakfast, the fruit in Morlokka were sweet and sour and that´s the way every Lyzaar likes it´s fruit.

He then was allowed to take a walk down the streets of Kremin city, under strict watch of the guards he saw the market, the war quarter and the palace.

The entire time curious eyes stared at him, most of these Lyzaar had barely seen a mammal in their entire lives, only the fact that Ratchet had fur but not scales was more than enough for some of the villagers to poke at him with a spear.

At the palace the guards stood ridiculously still, they wore skull shaped metal helmets and they wielded halberds twice their size.

He hadn´t noticed the way Lyzaar armour is made until now, the guards who now escorted him wore gray metal armour with horned helmets.

The palace guards however wore dark metal armour with spikes on the shoulder pads and torn capes.

What he also noticed was that every Lyzaar warrior, no matter what the rank, they all had heavily armoured tails.

Some had blades or spikes on them, others were armoured to the point where it seemed impossible to lift them.

This was an unusual fact because as far as Ratchet knew Lyzaar didn´t have sensitive tails, but then again Ratchet didn´t **exactly**know.

After about an hour walk he came back to the hut, ready to spent the rest of his day well.

When he came back Ratchet realized something...there was very little to do in Morlokka other than relaxing.

When Argrel awoke from his daily communication with the spirits Ratchet asked him...

„What do Lyzaar do for fun?" He asked lying on what looked like a couch.

Suddenly Argrel started laughing, and boy did he laugh...

His laughter sounded like an Earthen dog whose vocal cords had been clipped, in fact it sounded alot more like a cough than a laugh.

„*hack* *cough* ...Ah..I never thought that I would have a Lombax ask me that question" He continued to laugh for a bit and then gave him the answer.

„Well, the primary sport of the Lyzaar is hunting, we enjoy to hunt the creatures of the wild and spend days out in the wilderness" He said proudly.

„We also have an arena, dedicated only to the most bloodthirsty of us, however you would do well to stay away from it" He said, not recommending the arena (obviously).

„Also we have a beastiary located in the Kremin gardens, mainly for knoweledge of this land´s many creatures" He said trailing off for a second.

„However sadly the many struggles in this land can take it´s toll and for that reason we have an orphanage for the poor hatchlings that have lost their parents in the war" He said in a sad tone.

Ratchet blinked...

„War? Are you fighting someone?" Ratchet said, mildly concerned.

Argrel turned his head to face Ratchet...

„You will learn more of that in time..." Argrel said and left the hut without another word.

Ratchet growled to himself, remembering that line well...

He stood up from the couch as carefully as he could and decided to have a seat on the porch and think on what Argrel had said.

He sat outside with the sun shining brightly on him, he started to wonder if he could maybe invent something cool while he had a vacation.

But he would need all sorts of stuff and if he was going to get stuff he needed to get acces to the market, and if he wanted to get acces to the market he would need to get respect among the Lyzaar, and right now that seemed impossible.

Perhaps he would get respect if he proved himself in the hunt, or maybe in the arena...

But he also wondered...what war was Argrel talking about?

* * *

><p>*pant* *pant* Was that long enough for you?<p> 


	11. The worst nightmare of a Lombax

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

**Warning this chapter contains slight horror, blood, and slaughter, please beware .**

Ratchet walked upstairs to get some sleep, he had spent the whole day basking in the sun (which the average Lyzaar does three times a day).

Surprisingly he was rather tired after the day, even with doing practically nothing.

Ratchet went to his nest, making sure not to lie on his tail.

After getting in comfortable position (which took some time) he started to drift into deep sleep.

_Deep, deep in Ratchet´s subconcious..._

Ratchet awoke...but not in the hut...

He was in some sort of twisted world, he remembered this!

This was his dream world, during his battle with emperor Otto and the Technomites he had experienced this in a diabolical lab.

Suddenly a portal appeared before him, the portal was blood red and eyes stared at him from it.

Fear started to surface in his heart, the portal was calling him, taunting him...

He felt he was loosing control of his body, his legs started to move towards the portal, Ratchet wanted to run but couldn´t, he wanted to yell out but couldn´t.

And now it was too late, he was in the portal...

He was thrown into a dark chamber, he wandered in the darkness and found a small exit which he escaped from.

He saw an outdoor staircase attached to a tower of which he stood on, the weather was terrible and thunder hammered the ground beneath.

Ratchet saw that the lightning was red, that was no natural storm.

He made his way up the staircase to the top of the tower, almost falling off because of the weather.

He stumbled up the staircase to the top of the tower...and to his horror...he saw thousands of Lyzaar slaughtering Lombaxes beneath the tower.

He stared in shock at this atrocity, the Lyzaar fought with monstrous brutality, he saw them literally tear Lombaxes apart!

He saw them crush their skulls, choking them with their massive tails and chopping pieces of them off with razor sharp weapons.

He had always had a certain hatred for the Lyzaar but this...this was horrifying.

But he noticed something...

These Lyzaar were nothing like the ones he had seen, their skins were black, their eyes glowed red and their teeth were swelling from their gums.

Something was different...**very** different.

Ratchet looked away, he couldn´t bear looking at this...but he could still hear their screams of agony.

As he turned to look away a figure appeared in front of him...

The figure wore a dark cloak and it´s face was hidden, it looked like a wraith more than anything else.

But Ratchet could tell it was a Lombax due to the long ears sticking from the hood.

The figure started to speak in a dark, shadowy voice...

„This...is what they did son..." The Lombax said, it´s faceless head turning towards Ratchet.

Ratchet couldn´t believe it, was this his father? Was this Kaden?

„Are you...my dad?" Ratchet said, shivering.

The Lombax didn´t respond but walked past Ratchet and towards the edge of the tower.

„They...BROKE US!" The Lombax continued in a thundering voice.

Ratchet was frightened by this shade, even if that was his father, he didn´t think a wraith would keep itself from doing him harm.

The wraith stared into the battlefield, watching silently as Lombaxes, male and female were cut down in their prime.

The wraith turned to face Ratchet...

It´s eyes were now visible, it´s red, gloomy eyes stared into his soul...

„They...RUINED US!" The wraith screamed, it started to aproach Ratchet...

The fear Ratchet already had, had just been doubled!

As the shade came closer, he felt his dream fall apart, he was waking up.

But as he was about to be torn from this nightmare, he saw a last glimpse of horror.

The shade stopped when it realized that Ratchet was dissapearing from this world, but behind it...Ratchet saw a grin, behind the shade a face stared at him!

The face smiled at him horrificly, a wide, devlish smile and it´s eyes were more crimson than any he had ever seen.

Before he was pulled to the waking world, this face haunted his mind, and he knew it would for a long time, and he knew that he would awake...with a scream.


	12. A dream and a prophecy

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Argrel woke up at a loud scream coming from above, he stumbled from his nest and went up to Ratchet´s room to see what was going on.

He came to Ratchet who by now had fell from his nest with his blanket all over him, knocked over his nightstand and somehow managed to undo the bandages on his tail (which should be very difficult, considering Argrel had tied them very tightly).

„Holy mother of Harcaan, are you alright?" Argrel said filled with concern.

Ratchet was breathing heavily, whatever he had been dreaming about it had not been pretty!

„The...face!...that..horrible, horrible face!" Ratchet stammered.

„Face? What face?" Argrel asked.

„It was...terrifying! It´s red eyes stared at me! And it grinned horribly at me!" Ratchet said, seeming very out of place.

Argrel stopped dead, it was like those last word Ratchet said had lit something deep within him.

Ratchet didn´t notice this (he was too busy shaking from fear), but after only a second Argrel changed to a more calm state.

„I think you need to back to bed Ratchet..." He said and waved his hand, a blue glow eminated from his palm and Ratchet fell into a state of drowsiness.

Slowly Argrel let Ratchet fall into his nest, making sure he would sleep on his opposite side so he could replace the bandages while he was asleep.

After doing his work Argrel went down and got dressed, it was in the middle of the night but Ratchet´s words had provoked him to do something...

Once dressed in his shaman garbs he walked out of the hut, for some time he wandered around the city searching for his location...

He came upon an old abandoned cave (caves were built as Lyzaar dwellings in the old days), he entered the cave and began his search.

After delving deeper and deeper into the dark caverns Argrel stopped, he used the torch he wielded to light the wall of which he attempted to examine.

To him there were revealed more of the ancient prophecies...

The most important of these tales was the legacy of the Lightborn, a legendary warrior born from the power of the sun.

But the prophecy never mentioned a Lyzaar being him, no...the prophecy described a Lombax bearing this honorary title.

It described the Lyzaar in their troubled times (now that is) and how they would be rescued from their prison by the same beings that imprisoned them in the first place.

The Lyzaar chief had decided to throw these carvings down here for them never to be found, he thought it blasphemy that a Lombax, a Lyzaar´s worst enemy would liberate his people.

Argrel however had often went down to examine them in secret, he found it fascinating how the ancient Lyzaar had predicted this.

One of the carvings displayed the Lombax in question wielding a two handed golden wrench with a sun emblem on it, the Lombax was fighting a Lyzaar, but this Lyzaar had nothing good in store for his own people.

It was the same Lyzaar from the other carvings Argrel had examined some time ago, the dark and twisted one.

He looked much like the grim reaper, he wielded a large blood soaked blade with ancient runes engraved in it.

The carving´s writings told of the epic battle between the Lightborn and the Betrayer, unfortunately the prophecy described the sad downfall of the lightborn and the victory of the betrayer.

Then the apocalypse will begin, as is said in those ancient writings.

Argrel thought of Ratchet had described in his dreams, he begged to the elements that his results were wrong...


	13. The thief

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Three weeks of recovery had done Ratchet good, he had spent his time mostly relaxing in the sun and tinkering with what little junk he had at his disposal.

While on his little vacation he had noticed that Argrel hadn´t been the same recently, he was always away and ate very little (and he ate little in general).

But Ratchet was getting bored as usual, he decided to go for a walk in the city, the high chief had positioned guards outside the hut to escort him should he want to leave for a short while.

His conversations with the guards were almost always unpleasant, while they would much more walk around the city than stand at an entrence they still hated the prescence of a Lombax.

Still they really didn´t have a say in the matter, if the prisoner wanted to walk then he sould be able to for a short while.

He and the two heavily armoured guards went to the streets of Kremin in search of something interesting to see.

They approached the market which was busy as always, by now Ratchet had gotten used to the eyes staring at him, he still would have thought though that they would have lost interest in staring at him.

When they were in the middle of the market Ratchet heard someon running within the crowd, he heard shouting as well.

„STOP THAT THEIF!" He heard a guard yell.

Before his escorts could react to the ruckus a young Lyzaar came out of the crowd, he was incredibly fast.

Ratchet couldn´t get a good look at him but he saw that he was nothing like the other Lyzaar he had seen.

The thief had a bag of food in his hands and he ran way ahead of the guards, as he approached Ratchet and his escorts Ratchet got ready to stop him.

He attempted to get in the thief´s way, figuring that if he did the Lyzaar might look kindly upon him, and they probably would have but this pickpocket had feet faster than a shot from a blaster.

As soon a Ratchet tried to stop him the thief took a giant leap over Ratchet´s shoulders, there was no way the Lombax could have seen that coming.

Ratchet turned behind him and saw the thief disappear into streets, the guards who were chasing him ran after him but Ratchet guessed that they wouldn´t find him.

He stared at the footprints left by the thief, and he made a decision, he was going to find that thief and he was going to hand him over to the chieftain.

If the chieftain realized that Ratchet meant to make amends for whatever dreadful things the Lombaxes had done to his race then maybe he would let him go.

He was going to track the thief tonight but no one would find out beforehand.

* * *

><p>It´s been one delay after another but I should soon be back on track, this one is rather short but I made it to let you guys know that I haven´t forgotten about you.<p> 


	14. The Dead of Old

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Deep, deep under Kremin city, the great undercrofts are located, where the honorable warriors and spellcasters are buried.

Unfortunately not all who are buried here are honorable, some are vicious overlords of ancient past, others are dark warlocks who manipulate the elemental forces of the universe to carry out their dark will.

After the banishment of the Lyzaar, their ancestors took with them their dead ones, no matter how dark their past was, however they hesitated to take one specifically.

You see, originally all Lyzaar served one goal: To protect.

In ancient times they would stand among their allies to defend the universe from any possible threats, they used their mysterious powers to both heal and fight.

While being a powerful ally the other races were suspicious of them, the Lyzaar were nearly untouchable in battle and they all were extremely strong willed.

But messing with Lyzaar secrets can be the death of you...or worse, which is what the Lombaxes and the others found out the hard way.

The result of their interference was evil...

The first rift was created within the Lyzaar race, sin surfaced within them...but not harmless sin, such as envy or greed, no.

The first Lyzaar warlocks were born, hatchlings that were chosen by dark forces to channel evil through their veins.

Blood magic surfaced, and their entire race fell on dark times...

Because of their allies´s damned curiosity the Lyzaar´s purity had been taken from them, a deep seed of hate was planted because of this.

What happened afterwards will not be revealed yet, but let´s just say that at some point after the rift happened, a very, very dark event took place, featuring the birth...of the betrayer.

* * *

><p>Another really short one, yeah I know, I know, just hold on to your ears damn it! This one is just an appetizer for things to come, so please don´t post that you´re sick of short chapters just please tell me what you think of where this is going, cause in the end that´s exactly what gets ME going.<p> 


	15. Thief Hunting

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Ratchet creeped carefully through the Kremin slums, he still couldn´t believe he had gotten away with leaving the hut, he had snuck out into the night in an effort to track down that thief.

A part of Ratchet said that it was suicide, that he would be killed on sight if seen out in the middle of the night, but another part of him told him that if he actually caught the thief, the high chieftain might be grateful and let him go.

It was obvious that he wasn´t getting anywhere by serving his sentence, but if he was seen out here the results might be even worse.

While training as a comando in the Bogon galaxy he had learned a thing or two about stealth, but he had never had to use those skills until now.

Very quietly he sneaked through the streets, it was a bit difficult because of his golden coat, it didn´t meld well with the shadows.

It was long since he had passed the street that the thief had disappeared into and he was keen on finding his lair.

Using his wits and intellect he determined as to where this pickpocket would live, in these slums he saw sewers, old caves, tree houses and all sorts of crudely built homes.

Ratchet had a sixth sense about these things, he knew exactly where a thief like this would live only by the looks of the dwellings.

Finally after a long search and staying out of sight he came across what he was convinced was the thief´s home.

It was a ruined building with a large cape of cloth covering it´s top, without even a blink he rushed quietly towards it.

The house was at the brink of ruin, Ratchet could barely move without making a sound, as he got closer to the top he started hearing snores.

It was an odd snore, sounded more like a hiss combined with a snort.

He made his way up the stairs and before him lay the thief...

Ratchet could barely believe that it had been this easy, maybe he really DID have a sixth sense.

Ratchet wasn´t quite sure how to proceed now though...

He could maybe carry him back to the hut? No that´d be stupid.

Maybe he could alert a guard? No that´d be a bad idea.

While he was thinking Ratchet noticed something rather interesting...

This thief was nothing like the Lyzaar he had seen, he wasn´t very muscular like many Lyzaar, his tail was as thin as a Markazian´s, but most importantly his face was completely different.

Lesser Lyzaar look a lot like raptors, warrior Lyzaar look more like crockodiles, but the rarest and greatest of them have the faces and features of dragons.

The thief´s face however looked...human..(although I´m not certain if humans exist in the R&C universe).

He had the nostrils of a normal Lyzaar and seemed to have the eyes of one (though they were closed) but his head was just completely different.

Then Ratchet noticed that he had a strange looking mohawk made from what seemed to be hair, but looked more like thick steel wire colored blood red.

The more Ratchet looked at this strange Lyzaar the more he wondered if he was a Lyzaar at all.

Ratchet started to look around the house, soon he realized that this thief probably only stole to survive, given that what little food he had stole was gone, leaving behind an empty sack.

He started to feel more guilty about turning this Lyzaar, but surely he would get better treatment in prison than out on the streets.

To think like that in a dimension filled with, bloodthirsty, hate filled, desperate lizardmen is ridiculous.

Surely he would probably just get executed...

Ratchet´s thoughts didn´t reach any further because now he felt a sharp blade at his throat.

„Something I can do for you Lombax?" The thief said without putting the blade away.

Ratchet swallowed and with a quick move kicked the thief´s knee, the thief flinched and Ratchet jumped out of his reach.

The thief was young obviously and therefore he should be faster than the older ones, but still Ratchet had managed to evade his grasp.

Ratchet readied his wrench and the thief readied his dagger.

„let´s dance!" The thief whispered.

* * *

><p>Please don´t be mad at me guys, time hates me :(<p> 


	16. The Chief and the Shaman

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

_Four days before Ratchet´s thief hunt..._

Arch shaman Argrel made his way to the palace of Kremin, he was dressed in his royal garbs, suggesting that he was meeting the chieftain.

Up the massive stone stairs he went, carrying his long greenwood staff.

The great palace he was entering was made from swamp wood and giant reeds were used as columns to support the giant roof.

Argrel entered the throne room, the chief´s servants walked from the kitchens to the throne, carrying wooden platters with fruit and meat stacked on top.

The food was intended for the chief and his guests.

The chieftain sat on his throne, more menacing than any mortal should be, his crimson eyes barely looking at the meals he was brought.

As soon as Argrel entered the room the chieftain´s eyes were immediately turned to him, and in a rare moment he smiled.

His best advisor´s presence made him feel a bit better, he preferred his company than that of the council men.

While they were no cowards or weaklings, none of them had the experience or dedication of Argrel.

The chieftain stood up and asked his guests to please enjoy the feast while he discussed important matters with his advisor.

He noticed that the council men didn´t seem too happy about not being included in this discussion.

He cared little anyway...

He and Argrel went into a room covered by rags to conceal the entrence, the room was filled with light purple smoke that smelled sweetly.

The room was dark and the only things visible inside it were two large cushions and a table with a tall water pipe, which the smoke came from.

Argrel and the chieftain took a seat each and took turns on breathing deeply from the pipe, this is how a Lyzaar meeting starts, at first no words are spoken, and the only movements are the smoke rings that rise to the air.

After about ten minutes they started to speak...

„So...how goes with your little pet?" The chieftain started.

„You mean Ratchet?" Argrel replied.

„That´s his name? What an odd name for a Lombax...not that I care either way..." The chief said and blew more smoke rings.

„It goes fine, he learns quickly" Argrel said, barely hinting his pride.

The chieftain chuckled suddenly...

„You sound as if you expect him to survive out here..." He said, devoid of compassion.

Argrel was clearly irritated by the chieftain´s words...

„You are planning on letting him go aren´t you?" He said, changing his calm expression.

The chief inhaled more deeply than ever, and blew out dark purple smoke...

„I said that I would let him go free if he made amends for his kind´s crime, I never said that was actually possible" He said and broke eye contact with the shaman for a while.

„You can´t expect a lone Lombax boy to pay for the transgression of his entire race!" Argrel said sharply.

„I know, and that´s why he will eventually die..." The chief said, not caring to the least.

That was the final straw, Argrel rose swiftly from his cushion, his eyes staring in anger at the chieftain.

„Has it occured to you that this boy, who´s life you´re toying with, may have no idea what so ever what he has done to deserve his treatment!" Argrel said, his voice rising.

„It has actually, but that doesn´t change a thing..." The chief said, standing up as well.

„Your idea is dripping with injustice!" Argrel shouted.

„Injustice?...INJUSTICE! Here we lie in this accursed hell while the vermin bathe in the sun of Fastoon! When we begged for mercy, they spat in our faces and threw us here to rot! Or has your old mind forgotten that too?" The chief yelled in pure anger.

As his wrath grew, the smoke turned molten red, it started to show images of bloody Lyzaar and burning buildings.

„You are letting your anger control you! Have I taught you nothing?" Argrel yelled.

„They betrayed us!" The chief yelled in turn.

„They did not betray us! They **punished **us!" Argrel said, trying to control himself.

The chieftain stopped dead...

His glowing eyes twitched and his fangs started to show...

„GRAAAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed suddenly.

With lightning speed he attacked Argrel, his razor sharp claws at his neck.

As he was about to rip out his throat, Argrel evaded the attack...

And with an even faster move he threw himself upon the chief, and ended up with his foot on his chest, and his fingers tight around his neck.

Argrel had him trapped, at first the chief struggled without succes but then he gave up quickly.

Argrel stared stone faced at the chief and watched the red glow slowly leave his eyes, signaling his defeat.

„Never forget who took you in Rygan! Never forget who raised you from the streets! And never...forget...**what I taught you!**" Argrel said, his mystical voice echoing in the chieftain´s ears.

Argrel released the chief, dropping him to the floor, and then left him in the darkness...

Rygan the cheiftain watched Argrel leave, and as his words continued echo in his head he remembered what he had taught him...

„Remember my little hatchling, war and blood is not the way of the Lyzaar, by taking the lives of others, no matter for what cause, you are repeating our ancestors´s dark mistakes..." Argrel said in a distant memory.

Rygan sat on the floor, pondering what his mentor had said, and slowly more and more memories appeared in his mind.

Flashbacks of how Argrel had taught him to fight and use magic, how he had helped him rise to power and how he had saved his life countless times, both as a youngling and as a fullgrown.

Despite Argrel´s constant stream of advice, Rygan had often ignored him and had even had fights with him (but none as serious as this one).

He loved his mentor as a father but was hard bent on being as independant as he could be, and as a demonstration he took the name Rygan Bloodrend.

But now he was starting to realize that his mistakes were far from over...


	17. Murky Depths

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

From what had been a usually quiet night in the slums now bellowed with a loud racket coming from one of the ruined buildings.

But keep in mind that Lyzaar (especially the poor types) sleep like rocks, so very few were actually woken by the noise, and those who were, didn´t really care.

Lyzaar down on their luck tend to be the most apathetic creatures you´ll find...

Anyway, the racket sounded like pots and pans flying all over the place, crates breaking and bookcases falling.

And if you were to see what was going on in there you´d see an odd looking Lyzaar boy dressed in leathery rags fighting a Lombax boy of about the same age.

The Lyzaar was holding a dagger against his opponent, while the Lombax was wielding a wrench, although both didn´t seem intent on killing each other.

The exchanged strikes back and forth for minutes on end, even with his tiny dagger the Lyzaar held his own just as well as the Lombax and there seemed to be a permanent stalemate.

Both were much too busy in the duel to take notice to the wooden boards cracking under them, slowly the floor started to give in to the weight of the of the two.

When the cracking noise under them started to out-sound the fighting racket, they both stopped to listen...

„Did you hear something?" Was all the Lyzaar could say before they both fell into a deep, dark hole under the house.

The grunts and hisses were quickly replaced by echoing yells of terror, as the two youngsters fell into the dark depths their yells fainted and eventually disappeared.

By the time the city guards had arrived, the house was empty, and the floor had a massive hole in it.

_After about fiteen minutes of falling down a dark, murky pit..._

The Lombax and the Lyzaar continued to fall, both were losing hope of survival, by now Ratchet was certain that this would be where it all ended.

Suddenly below them they saw water, Ratchet eyes lit up, perhaps there was hope...

As they continued to descend the water below grew larger, and soon it became clear that this was a giant underground lake.

At the botom, they both hit the water with a big splash...

The minute Ratchet tried to swim in the water he realized something was wrong, the water felt abnormally heavy, like his soaked fur was dragging him down.

His rival however was swiming with ease, Ratchet knew that he would probably leave him there so he had to do something...

As the Lyzaar swam over him Ratchet grabbed hold of his long tail and made him drag him to shore...

The Lyzaar was strong and could easily swim with Ratchet in tow but still you can imagine the annoyance of someone hitching a ride on your tail.

In only a matter of seconds they were both at the shore...

„Hey, freeloader! Get off!" The Lyzaar said and shook Ratchet´s hand off his tail.

The Lyzaar boy immediately sprung to his feet but for some reason Ratchet was too exhausted to stand on his feet...

He crawled on all fours from the shallow water, his ears drooped and his fur was soaked with something black.

The Lyzaar could hear his panting so he turned around...

„What´s up with you?" He asked coldly.

Ratchet just growled at him.

The Lyzaar chuckled...

„That must be one of the famous Lombax threats I´ve heard so much about..." He said and grinned slightly...

Ratchet summoned his strength and stood up, he tried shaking his fur to get that cursed muck off him but with little success.

„C´mon, I know someplace I where I can fix you up..." The Lyzaar said and motioned for Ratchet to follow him.

Ratchet stumbled after him, now the truth was that the Lyzaar didn´t have a clue where they were, but any place with good elemental energy surging from it, is a good place.

They stopped in a little corner where Ratchet could hear waterfalls through the thick, stone walls.

„Sit down over there..." The Lyzaar said.

Ratchet wasn´t in any position to object so he did as he was told.

The Lyzaar boy sat down in a meditation position and started to breathe deeply...

Slowly Ratchet could hear the sounds of water escalate, the Lyzaar´s breathing became more deep and calm, and his red mane started to shift in the wind created by his power.

Suddenly he opened his eyes, and they gleamed bright blue, Ratchet could swear he saw tide pools in his eyes.

The Lyzaar slowly got up and walked to Ratchet, he then pointed his open palm towards him and from it he conjured pure, everlasting water.

The gush of water purified Ratchet´s fur and it became gold once again...

Ratchet felt his strength come back to him and he felt renewed, in fact he felt better than he had for a long time.

Ratchet was so fascinated by his swift recovery that he completely forgot that someone had just used **magic **to heal him.

Ratchet was quick to gather his senses though...

„Wait, what did you just do?" Ratchet asked dumbfounded.

„I released the elemental energies surrounding this area, water that is.." He said and gave a weak smile.

„I have like 200 questions here, but let´s start with: What is a guy with powers like that doing as a thief?" The Lombax asked.

„I got kicked out of the shaman academy for GIALF..." The Lyzaar responded casually.

Ratchet blinked in confusion...

„*Sigh* **G**etting **I**nto **A** **L**ot of **F**ights..." The thief explained.

„Aha..." Was all that Ratcet could say.

After that short conversation they continued their trek into the caves, the caverns were weird to look at, ponds everywhere with glowing seeweed, giant mushrooms and oddly shaped rocks.

Ratchet felt eerie in this place, like it was filled with the vengful spirits of water.

They had only walked for a few minutes when suddenly they came upon a Lyzaar made archway, as soon as the thief saw it he stopped dead for a split second and then ran ahead into the murky ruins.

Ratchet told him to wait but he wouldn´t listen, he ran after him as quickly as he could but on the way he could see hieroglyphics, wall carvings that displayed small pieces of Lyzaar history.

And then Ratchet realized why the Lyzaar had ran ahead...


	18. The Door

**Hearts of Cold Blood**

Harcal ran as swiftly as he could, if he wasn´t mistaken he might have stumbled upon something magnificent.

What had just been a peaceful night in the slums had been turned into a treasure hunt.

The ruins around him had to be at least a few thousand years old, but still they were almost perfectly preserved.

He ran and ran, not paying heed to the Lombax behind him, in fact he might have forgotten him temporarily.

Harcal continued to run until he started to realize a shadow was falling over him, and just as he noticed he came to the end.

The young Lyzaar stopped dead in his tracks, he stared in awe at the giant doors before him.

The doors had to be twenty cubits tall and ten cubits wide, and countless symbols were carved in the stone.

Carvings displaying the crown of Aldrogar, the blessing of the four elements and all sorts of history, some of wich Harcal wasn´t even fammiliar with.

Soon he heard the Lombax´s steps coming towards him but he was too enthralled to even notice.

„Hey why did you..." Ratchet said before his eyes turned to the massive doors.

Slowly he walked up beside the Lyzaar and stared with him in silence. They both just stood there in awe barely noticing the sounds of flowing water.

„I have to open it somehow..." Harcal said suddenly.

„Why? Shouldn´t we be focusing on getting out of here?" Ratchet asked.

„You don´t understand, what lies beyond this door can give me insight on my race´s history" Harcal replied and started to tap slightly on the massive door.

Ratchet sighed, Lyzaar could not only be mean and cruel, weird and mystical but they could be history geeks too. Who would have freaking thought.

Ratchet sat down and watchet Harcal knock gently on the door, looking for some sort of weak spot. He walked from side to side and pressed his ear against the door with each tap.

But Ratchet heard something that the Lyzaar did not, you see a Lombax´s hearing is even more superior than a Lyzaar´s and especially in an isolated enviroment like this.

Ratchet, even while a few yards away could hear a dull sound that was different from the other knocks. Almost like a gear moving slightly.

Ratchet immediately stood up and went towards the sound, he pressed his own ear against the door and knocked on the same spot Harcal had knocked on.

Ratchet heard the sound again, this time more clearly, he started to put pressure on the door, searching for some sort of button or a switch.

Harcal noticed that Ratchet was helping but thought little of it, he simply smiled to himself.

Suddenly Ratchet felt something in his palm, it was a pressure plate of some sort. His eyes lit up, he pressed the plate at once and the whole door started to rumble and shake.

Both of the youngsters backed away from the now opening doors and for the first time Ratchet saw a real smile on Harcal´s face.

„You did it..." He said and looked to Ratchet.

Ratchet smiled as a reply...

The two then proceeded through the massive doorway and in the distance they could see a faint blue light...

* * *

><p>Not very lengthy but I have to make short ones once in a while to make sure I haven´t forgotten about you guys :)<p> 


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